Since the old BMW i3 and BMW i8 stopped production, BMW has started a round of rebuilding the lineup of new energy vehicles, and as iNEXT entered the mass production stage, a new lineup gradually emerged. After the brand-new BMW i3 based on BMW 3xi has been listed in China, the second pure electric car with I nameplate also appeared at the beginning of the year, which is the BMW i5 belonging to BMW 5 Series.
Compared with the fuel car and pure electric car that we saw in Audi and Mercedes-Benz, the reason why we say that BMW i5 and BMW 5 Series are subordinate is because the car is almost shared with the fuel car in design, and it has not overturned the rebuilt family grille, and there is no independently developed appearance kit. Even the exhaust pipe and corresponding decorative design that no longer exists have appeared in the rear bumper of BMW 5 Series. In other words, if it weren’t for the existence of the charging socket and the vehicle tail, we could hardly tell the same decorative version of BMW i5 and BMW 5 Series.
Of course, even if it is a shared design, BMW i5 still has many key elements in the new energy market to emphasize its more avant-garde and scientific side. For example, the active closed air intake grille can still achieve the closure of the front of the car through the completely closed air intake and exhaust control to obtain lower wind resistance; At the same time, although the vehicle does not completely hide the door handle, this semi-hidden structure can also bring low wind resistance effect, and it is more outstanding in the visual fullness of the body structure.
In terms of size, the length, width and height of BMW i5 have reached 5175/1900/1520mm, which makes the vehicle close to the road at all times during dynamic driving. At the same time, after the domestic extension, the wheelbase of the vehicle has reached 3105mm, which will narrow the space gap between it and Mercedes-Benz EQE and ensure the ride comfort of the rear passengers. However, it should be mentioned that the rear row of BMW i5 does not support flexible reclining adjustment, but emphasizes static riding comfort through thicker backrest and cushion.
Speaking of this cockpit, let’s look at the cockpit center console first. BMW i5 also laid out the family design of BMW’s generation. The 12.3-inch digital instrument panel will be integrated with the 14.9-inch touch screen, which will produce a deflection of the center of gravity towards the main driving side in layout and a certain curved surface in hardware to optimize reading and control. In addition, we have seen a large number of numerical control designs in the cabin, including air conditioning touch strips, multimedia car touch panels, and even door touch locks above the armrest box, which will continuously improve the scientific and technological content of the cockpit.
At the same time, there are some fine designs in the cockpit. In addition to the double-spoke special-shaped steering wheel, the vehicle also replaces the "chicken leg" shape gear handle that BMW has used for a long time with an electronic shift paddle with crystal texture. At the same time, the intelligent interactive atmosphere lamp is embedded in the glass decorative belt of the central control and door panel, which will undertake the control tasks of atmosphere lighting, air volume control, seat position memory and so on.
In terms of car, BMW i5 will be equipped with iDrive 8.5, which has completed the adaptation for many local applications, including head applications such as iQiyi and WeChat, which can be used in car. At the same time, this intelligent entertainment interactive function will also be extended to the back seat, where it is no longer to provide small-size multimedia control or entertainment screen, but to bring the same 31-inch ceiling-mounted LCD screen as BMW 7 Series. Although it is an optional configuration with a resolution of 8K and can be matched with Baohua Weijian surround sound system, it can still bring audio-visual enjoyment and intelligent interconnection experience comparable to the new domestic car-making forces. Of course, in the absence of optional ceiling screen, the Type-C socket and Pad interface behind the front seat backrest can meet the needs of entertainment equipment expansion.
With regard to driving, as one of the first manufacturers to obtain L3-level automatic driving test license, BMW i5 has completed the layout of high-level intelligent driving. However, L2+-level assisted driving is the first thing we will see in China, but in addition to the functions of lane centering, lane merging assistance and tracking and reversing, it has now added advanced assisted driving functions such as automatic parking, remote parking and automatic lane change assistance, which will enable vehicles to approach new forces again in intelligent driving. However, automatic lane change assistance is included in the option, and users need to pay extra for it.
In terms of power, BMW i5 has only provided the eDrive 35L nameplate in the domestic version, which corresponds to a 210kW and 410N·m excitation synchronous motor. Although there is only a single motor option, the vehicle has been able to break through 100 in 6.7 seconds, and the CLTC pure battery life of 536km or 567km is obtained through the battery pack provided by Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited. More importantly, the vehicle supports 10-80% fast charging with a maximum charging power of 200kW, which can be fully recharged in 0.53 hours, making it more convenient for large-scale and long-distance travel.
In the chassis, BMW i5 still adopts the combination of front double wishbone and rear multi-link independent suspension, but after the rear motor layout is realized, the overall center of gravity of the vehicle will be more backward, which will help to enhance the balance in dynamic driving and further highlight the handling advantages of BMW i5.
Write it at the end
The appearance of BMW i5 will open a new stage of competition in the new energy vehicle market. Under the situation that different grades of products such as Weilai ET7, Tucki P7 and Krypton 001 dominate the high-end new energy C-class vehicle market, BMW i5, which is positioned in the 440,000-460,000 class, has not yet achieved high performance and high-order intelligent driving, but its long-established luxury and handling advantages in the C-class vehicle market will make the vehicle a special luxury bestseller.